Fabric cover



June 24, J F RQHS ETAL FAB ic COVER Filed July 19, 1949 ATTORNEY.

Patented June 24, 1952 FABRIC COVER Joseph F. Rohs, Riverside, Conn.,and Oliver Wesley Davidson, New Brunswick, N. J., assignors, by mesneassignments, to Chicopee Manufacturing Corporation, Chicopee Falls,Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 19, 1949, SerialNo. 105,588

6 Claims. (CI. 47-46) The present invention relates to a fabric coverand more particularly to a shade cloth designed especially for use inthe protection of plants such as orchids in horticultural greenhouses.

For many years it has been the practice in cultivating plants such asorchids under greenhouse conditions to use various types of shades onthe roof of the greenhouse to control the amount of sunlight fallingupon the plants undergoing cultivation. In some instances shade isproduced by using various forms of white paint applied directly to theglass panes in the greenhouse ceiling. A more satisfactory practice hasinvolved the use of a roll type lath shade placed on the roof of thegreenhouse having alternate opaque and transparent stripes to reduce anddiffuse the light reaching the plants.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved roofincluding an improved shade cloth which obviates the disadvantagesinherent in the use of prior devices including opaque paints or of priorlath shades. A more particular object is the provision of a shade clothwhich gives the desirable shade pattern and diffusion characteristic ofthe lath shade but which is not subject to the limitations anddisadvantages thereof. Another object is to provide a shade cloth whichproduces the desired degree of shade, gives greater diffusion of heatunder the shade, affords lower wind resistance and reflects asubstantial proportion of the heat-producing infrared rays impinging onthe cloth when placed on the roof of a greenhouse. Another object is toprovide an improved shade which increases the amount of sunlightreaching the plants when the sun is low.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent as the description progresses with reference to thethree figures of the drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a fragment of the cloth;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragment of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a cross section through a glass roof with the fabric overlaidthereon.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the preferred cloth inaccordance with the present invention comprises a woven fabric formed bya plurality of closely woven horizontal stripes IT separated from eachother by open weave horizontal stripes IS. The closely woven horizontalstripes I! are substantially opaque and preferably comprisesubstantially contiguous opaque warp strands l2 interwoven between weftstrands l3 which are desirably widely spaced pairs in a plain one-up,one-down weave. The transparent stripe a cooler greenhouse.

15 preferably comprise widely spaced monofllament warp strands l0interwoven between the widely spaced weft strands I3. The warp and Weftstrands from which the fabric is woven are preferably highly reflectiveopaque round monofilaments such as a white pigmented plasticmonofilament having a smooth, shiny surface, white pigmentedmonofilament formed from vinylidene chloride polymers and copolymers(saran) being ideal. The fabric may be designed to give any specificdegree of shade, within wide limits. Thus, for example, a shade whichmany orchids growers regard as ideal affords a light transmission ofwith 35% shade. This particular requirement may be met'by a 30 x 12.020" construction of white pigmented saran monofilament: i. e., 30 warpstrands interwoven with 12 filling strands per square inch, theindividual strand being 0.020" in diameter. In weaving the fabric, it isreeded so that there are 25 ends in an opaque stripe /2" wide and 5strands in an open weave stripe section /2" wide. Such a fabric providesa high degree of reflection of the infrared rays, affording On dulldays, the white filaments reflect additional sunlight into thegreenhouse. This is true also in the evening when the sun is low; thesuns rays which normally would be lost are reflected into thegreenhouse, thus lengthening the efiective growing day. The fabric issubstantially self-cleansing and when required can be readily rolled toa position at the top of the greenhouse, to be lowered when necessary.

Referring particularly to Fig. 3, the fabric of the present invention isshown disposed directly on the glass pane 14 forming the ceiling of thegreenhouse. The substantially contiguous opaque warp strands lzformingthe opaque stripe reflect substantially all of the sunlight impingingthereon producing a dense shade pattern in the greenhouse. The openweave stripe formed by the widely spaced warp strands I0 permits asubstantial proportion of the incident sunlight to pass therethrough.

When the rays of the sun strike the shade cloth at high angles ofincidence, such as perpendicular or nearly perpendicular to the plane ofthe cloth, such rays pass directly through the cloth in the spacesbetween the widely spaced horizontal strands. Thus when the sun is high,the amount of sunlight reaching the plants is determined by the relativeareas of the opaque stripes and lighttransmitting stripes. When the sunis low, that is when its rays strike the roof at directions near thatindicated by the line It, the improved shade cloth acts'as a reflectorto increase the amount of sunlight reaching the plants. Ordinarily withthe suns rays striking the roof from low angles of incidence to theroof, substantially all the rays would be reflected up and out of thegreenhouse. However in the shade cloth of this invention the horizontalstrands II] in Fig. 3 which are preferably generally round, smooth,opaque, highly reflective monofilaments, act as reflecting elements andreflect the rays such as [6 along the paths l 8 and so reflect sunlightto the plants. Thiseffect is particularly evident when the angle ofthe-incident rays is such that one element" I9 shadows the next. In suchcases the only sunlight reaching the plants is that reflected by theelements Iii through the cloth.

By virtue of the lattice pattern of the-weave, the fabric has a low Windresistance or sail effect compared to a uniformly woven fabric havingthe same number of warp and filling strands perunit area. In'addition,the lath pattern weave affords good diffusion of heat between the widelyspaced'warp l El and warp l2 strands in the loosely woven horizontalstripe areas. High reflectivity is provided by the smooth; shiny surfaceof the white pigmented monofilaments of which the fabric is constructed,and since the pigment is uniformly dispersed throughout themonofllaments, the fabric Will retain its color substantially unimpairedthroughout'it's useful life;

It will be apparent'to those skilledin the art that many variations maybe made from the particular fabric disclosed in the drawings anddescribed immediately above. It' will also be apparent that the fabricmay be constructed of monofllaments produced from many types of plasticcompositions in addition to saran. All these and many other variationsare included Within the spirit and scope of the invention as-deflned inthe appended patent claims.

The light transmission and wind resistance of typical fabrics inaccordance with the present invention are indicated by the data given inthe table;

TABLE zontal and a cover on the supporting surface for controlling theamount of sunlight passing through the supporting surface, the coverhaving alternate opaque and light-transmitting stripes, thelight-transmitting stripes comprising horizontal"thin reflectingelements, the reflecting elements being widely spaced with respect totheir thickness in the plane of the cover to permit direct transmissionbetween the elements and through the supporting surface of sunlightfalling on the cover at high angles of incidence, and the reflectingelements having opaque highly reflecting surfaces so placed as toreflect through the supporting surfacessunlight falling on the cover atlow angles of incidence.

2. A roof comprising in combination a transparent supporting surfaceinclined to the horizontal and a cover on the supporting surface forcontrolling the amount of sunlight passing through the supportingSurface, the cover having alternate opaque and light-transmittingstripes, the light-transmitting stripes comprising horizontal' thinreflecting elements, the reflecting elements being widely spaced withrespect to their thickness in the plane of the cover to permit directtransmission between the elements and through the supporting surface ofsunlight falling on the cover at high angles'ofincidence, and thereflecting elements being opaque highly reflecting round monofilamentswhich reflect through the" support: ing surfaces sunlight falling on thecover at low angles of incidence.-

3.-A shade cloth having-alternateopaque and light-transmitting stripes,the light-transmitting stripes comprising thin reflecting elementswidely spaced with respect to their thickness 'inthe plane of the clothto permit direct transmission through the cloth and between the elementsof rays of light falling on the cloth at high angles of incidence, andthe reflecting elements having opaque highly reflecting surfacesso"placed' as to reflect through the cloth rays of light falling on theclothat low'angle ofincidence at which one Light transmission and windresistance of special samn fabrics woven for trial asgrey/mousse shades[All fabrics woven with White, opaque, 0.020-inch filament]C011sFtril1)ct i0n of Percl entage'ofLdight a no ran'smi e WindFilameifitss in Open Pgisgairceb; r V Mes tri e 9 Per no Wldth of Widthof Light Rays li i f i Square Open 0 P Dncct Light Foot Mesh pague VergeStriking Stripe Stripe lar to Fabric 7 Fabric inches inches M A 36 484.16 34 35 49 4. 04 lio 1%6 35 49 3. 81 i r21 33', 49 4.37 )4 W1 33- 464. 31 1946 19in 32 46 4. 25 $2 M: 32- 45 4. 53 E4 32 45 4. 44 1%; 1% 3%g: gig uniform 5 mesh. For Gomparison- Wood-Lath Shadez Unpaintcd-Dark.2 A 3 Z 00 35 Painted-Alum- 2 3- 3 A 30 38 mum.

1 Determined with Wind velocity of 50 M. P. H. 2 Space betwc'en'lath; 8Width of lath.

We claimz I 1. A roof comprising incombmation-a transparent supportingsurface inclined to the honreflecting element shadows the succeedingreflectin'g element;

4. A shade cloth having alternate opaque and light-transmitting stripes,the light-transmitting stripes comprising thin reflecting elementswidely spaced with respect to their thickness in the plane of the clothto permit direct transmission through the cloth and between the elementsof rays of light .falling on the cloth at high angles of incidence, andthe reflecting elements being opaque highly reflecting roundmonofilaments which reflect through the cloth rays of light falling onthe cloth at low angles of incidence at which one reflecting elementshadows the succeeding reflecting element.

5. A shade cloth having alternate opaque and light-transmitting stripes,the light-transmitting stripes comprising thin reflecting elementswidely spaced with respect to their thickness in the plane of the clothto permit direct transmission through the cloth and between the elementsof rays of light falling on the cloth at high angles of incidence, andthe reflecting elements being opaque highly reflecting round saranmonofilaments which reflect through the cloth rays of light falling onthe cloth at low angles of incidence at which one reflecting elementshadows the succeeding reflecting element.

6. A woven shade cloth in which substantially all of the strands in onedirection are opaque highly reflecting round monofllaments, said strandsbeing arranged in alternate opaque and light-transmitting stripes, theopaque stripes being formed by grouping the strands close together toprevent substantial transmission of light through the cloth and thelight-transmitting stripes being formed by spacing the strands widely inrelation to their thickness whereby rays of light falling on the clothat high angles of incidence can pass directly through the cloth betweenthe strands and rays of light striking the cloth at angles of incidenceat which one strand in a transparent stripe shadows the next strand willbe reflected through the cloth.

JOSEPH F. ROHS. OLIVER WESLEY DAVIDSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,333,618 Strauss Nov. 2, 19432,354,435 Stedman July 25, 1944 2,359,953 Whewell et a1 Oct. 10, 1944OTHER REFERENCES Publication, Textile Design and Colour by Watson,London, 1912, page 84.

